Reading Time: 6 minutes Suddenly the discussion became political, turning AGCO’s Fendt-brand press conference during last November’s Agritechnica machinery show in Hanover, Germany, into one of the most unique I can remember attending. Standing on stage with a German journalist who was acting as event host, AGCO CEO and president Martin Richenhagen eventually found himself talking about larger political […] Read more
Farm machinery gets political
AGCO chief Martin Richenhagen fields unusual questions at a corporate press conference in Germany
The quality revolution in agricultural machinery
Business has changed. You can’t build a tractor the way they used to. Farmers won’t let you
Reading Time: 6 minutes At first, we all thought he must have been exaggerating. It was 2013 and we were at the Hesston, Kansas combine assembly plant where Hans-Bernd Veltmaat, AGCO’s senior vice-president was discussing the plant’s US$40-million expansion, which included a new state-of-the-art paint system. “This paint centre is a major building block for AGCO,” Veltmaat said. “With […] Read more
Fendt 500 Vario tractors finally arrive in Canada
These long-awaited compact models are meant to appeal to mixed farming operations
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was September 27, 2012, in Marktoberdorf, Germany when executives at AGCO’s Fendt brand gave the world its first official look at their all-new tractor series, the 500 Vario, which offered bigger-than-expected horsepower crammed into a small chassis. During the official launch ceremony a band played as the door at the end of the factory […] Read more
To the South Pole and back, on a Massey Ferguson
A modified MF 5610 and its crew gets a chance to prove their stuff, retracing the route of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic 1958 adventure to the Antarctic
Reading Time: 4 minutes At the North Pole, it was December 9, and the jolly old elf in the bright red suit was preparing as usual for his annual Christmas Eve sleigh ride. A world away, meanwhile, and even more incredibly, an expedition aboard a bright red Massey Ferguson 5610 tractor was powering its way to the geographic South […] Read more
Que. Caterpillar dealer to shed ag equipment arm
Reading Time: < 1 minute Caterpillar’s dealer for Quebec and the Maritime provinces is set to sell its Quebec farm equipment business to a chain of Agco dealerships. Hewitt Equipment — the authorized Cat dealer for Quebec and western Labrador and, through its Atlantic Tractors and Equipment arm, for the Maritimes — announced recently it will sell its ag division […] Read more
Agco posts lower profit on falling crop prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Agco Corp. posted a lower quarterly profit Tuesday as growers around the globe, faced with falling prices for farm commodities, purchased fewer tractors and harvesters. The company, which makes equipment sold under the Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra brand names, reported a third-quarter net profit of $65 million, down from $125.2 million […] Read more
CAN bus at your control
CAN bus technology is hardly new, but now it’s being perfected in farm machinery, opening up a world of great opportunities
Reading Time: 5 minutes In precision agriculture, there can be a steep learning curve with the newest systems on the market. Planter clutches and variable-rate fertilizer systems have their intricacies, for instance, and it can take growers years to customize key components to fit their particular operations. Now, however, there may be help, based on a connectivity technology that […] Read more
The power to help Africa
Where Canada once based its aid programs on high-capacity, Canadian-built machinery, new industry-led plans work better
Reading Time: 5 minutes In the February 4 edition of Country Guide, you read about Canada’s latest $13 million in agricultural development aid being invested in Ukraine to create a new generation of farm co-operatives under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). While the Ukraine project represents a significant financial investment, CIDA has funded much larger agricultural development programs […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
